NVIDIA took the wraps off of its latest-generation Geforce GTX 770 GPU last week, and manufacturers have begun announcing not only reference designs but custom and factory overclocked versions of this GK-104 "Kepler" GPU refresh. One card in particular that caught my attention was the ASUS GTX 770 Poseidon graphics card, which combines NVIDIA's GK-104 GPU with a hybrid heatsink and fan combo that allows the simultaneous use of water and air cooling!

According to the branding, and a hands-on report by Tech Power Up at Computex in Taipei, Taiwan, the GTX 770 Poseidon graphics card is part of the company's Republic of Gamers (ROG) line and likely sports beefy VRM hardware and factory GPU overclocks. Of course, the GTX 770 GPU uses NVIDIA's Kepler architecture and is essentially the GTX 680 with some seriously overclocked memory and refined GPU Boost technology. That means 1,536 CUDA cores, 128 texture units, and 32 ROPs (raster operation units) within 4 GPCs (Graphics Processing Clusters). This is the full GK-104 chip, desite the x70 name. For more information on the GTX 770 GPU, check out our recent review of the NVIDIA GTX 770 card.

Update: ASUS has just launched the new ROG graphics cards at a Computex press conference. According to the ASUS press release:

"ROG Poseidon graphics card with hybrid DirectCU H2O cooling
The new ROG Poseidon graphics card features an NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 700 Series GPU and a hybrid DirectCU H2O thermal design that supports both air and liquid cooling. Developed by ASUS, its CoolTech fan combines blower and axial fans in one design, forcing air in multiple directions over the heatsink to maximize heat dissipation. Liquid cooling reduces operating temperatures by up to 31 degrees Celsius for cooler running with even greater overclocking potential. ROG Poseidon also features a red pulsing ROG logo for a distinctive dash of style."

(end update)

Back on the Poseidon specifcally, the card is a short GTX 770 with a distinctive cooler that uses a full cover water block that covers the entire card and includes the GPU, memory, and VRM areas. ASUS further added a more-traditional air cooler to the area above the GPU itself to help dissapate heat. The air cooler is a circular aluminum fin array with a fan that sits in the middle. The air entire hybrid cooler is then covered by a ROG-themed shroud with a configurable LED-backlit Republic of Gamers logo on the side that can be controlled via software.

The water cooling portion acts as any other full cover water block, allowing cool water to move heat away from the metal contact (the bottom of the block) touching the various components. The inlet and outlets poke out from the side of the card, which is a bit odd but the shroud prevents them coming out at 90-degrees like typical blocks. If your case width is tight, you may need to get creative to fit a 90-degree barb extender (I apologize if that's not the technical term) on to the existing tubing connectors (heh). The cooler can be operated with the air cooler's fan running with or without being connected to a water loop. When water cooling is used, the fan can be turned off to reduce noise or left on to allow for higher overclocks and/or lower temperatures.

Unfortunately, that is all of the information that is currently available as ASUS has not yet officially launched on the custom GTX 770 graphics card. Pricing, availability, and clockspeed details are still unknown.

For more information, stay tuned to the press.asus.com/events livestream page as it might be announced at a Computex press conference this week since the company is showing off the hardware at the show!

While they did fail to provide us with a price we do know that some time this month ASUS will be offering a 4K display for sale in North America, so you may not have to special order one from overseas anymore. Of course as the two models are 39" and 31.5" you can expect a premium price as not only is 4K relatively new, the sizes of these monitors are also very new to the market ... at least for PCs. The extra size does bring the pixel density down to 140 ppi but you will still have beautiful picture quality.

Cutting-edge IGZO panel technology
The ASUS PQ321 True 4K UHD Monitor uses cutting-edge Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide (IGZO) rather than traditional amorphous silicon for the active layer of its LCD panel. IGZO panels support much smaller transistors than amorphous silicon, which in turn gives much smaller pixels and the 3840 x 2160 resolution of the PQ321 is four times that of a 1920 x 1080 Full HD display.

AVAILABILITY & PRICING
ASUS will be exhibiting the 39-inch and 31.5-inch True 4K UHD Monitor models at Computex 2013 in Taipei. The ASUS PQ321 True 4K UHD Monitor will be available in North America in the end of June.

ASUS unleashed a barrage of product announcments at its opening keynote at Computex 2013 in Taipei, Taiwan earlier today. Two of the products shown off in slide form at the event were the HTPC-oriented VivoPC and VivoMouse. After the event, ASUS posted a press release that went into a bit more detail on the two devices. However, while the company has provided specifications and a tentative Q3 2013 release date, it has not yet announced pricing information.

The ASUS VivoPC is a small form factor HTPC clad in an angular brushed aluminum textured chassis. It measures 190 x 190 x 36.2mm and is large enough to accomodate a single 3.5" or 2.5" hard drive. The hard drive and memory can be easily replaced and the PC serviced by lifting up the (lockable, via a switch on the back) lid. It will come equipped with an as-yet-unnamed Intel processor with integrated processor graphics (likely Haswell, since ASUS did not mention a SKU or series and Intel has not had its keynote yet), DDR3 memory, and an 802.11ac wireless radio. It is unclear whether or not ASUS intends to sell both barebones and fully-configured SKUs, but as mentioned previously at leas the memory and HDD or SSD can be purchased seperately.

Rear IO options include:

2 x USB 3.0

4 x USB 2.0

1 x SD card slot

1 x RJ45 LAN

1 x S/PDIF

2 x Audio jacks

1 x HDMI

1 x VGA

1 x Power button

1 x top cover lock switch

ASUS' preferred input method is, of course, their own recently-announced VivoMouse accessory, which is a large remote-control sized mouse with a large circular touchpad. The mouse has a 1200 DPI sensor and the touchpad supports 3-point multi-touch. It operates over the 2.4GHz RF frequency band, which is nice to see as it eliminates the need for an IR sensor and line of sight to the VivoPC box. The ASUS VivoMouse measures 135 x 78 x 25.5mm.

Personally, I think that I would rather have a WMC remote (such as the remote with qwerty keyboard and mini-trackpad on one side and media controls on the other that was Allyn's hardware pick on the podcast awhile back) with hardware buttons, but I have to admit that the VivoMouse at least looks stylish and people that also run Windows apps on their HTPCs might find having a large multi-touch touchpad useful.

Pricing has not yet been announced, but ASUS has stated that users should expect both the VivoPC and VivoMouse accessory to be available sometime in Q3 2013.

The company started off with the new Transformer Pad Infinity. This updates their line of separable hybrid laptop/tablets with NVIDIA Tegra 4.

Raw specifications:

NVIDIA Tegra 4 SoC

2560x1600 10.1-inch display

USB 3.0, Bluetooth, 4K out via HDMI

6MP (I think, could be 16MP) rear, 1.2 MP front cameras

Up next was the FonePad Note. A page from Samsung's playbook, both in name and in functionality, the FonePad is a 6" phone with a stylus pen. Coming off our recent Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 story, this device will also be powered by an Intel Atom Z2560 SoC. These could be the start of many high-profile design wins for Intel.

Raw specifications:

Intel Atom Z2560 SoC

2GB RAM

6" 1080p SuperIPS+ display, thin border

8MP rear, 1.2MP front cameras

Front-facing stereo speakers

Stylus Pen

And then we get the MEMO Pad HD7. This 7-inch 1280x800 HD tablet is designed to be cheap. It will be available for $149 in 16GB capacity for America, and a smaller $129 8GB version for emerging markets.

Raw specifications:

ARM Cortex A7 quad-core SoC

7-inch 1280x800 HD IPS display (10-point multitouch)

5MP rear, 1.2MP front cameras

Bluetooth, GPS, stereo speakers

(starting at?) 16GB ($149) USA, 8GB ($129) emerging markets

We briefly leave mobile devices to head towards a desktop computer. The VivoPC is designed to be easily upgraded, "Just lift the lid and replace the harddrive and memory". This is being positioned as a home theater PC running Windows 8. We currently have no further specifications.

Raw Specifications:

802.11ac

It's got a lid?

And of course, with the discussion of an 802.11ac device we clearly need to move on to routers. The ASUS Router RT-AC68U, while a slight bit literal of a name, is supposedly the first dual-band 802.11ac Router. I am not exactly sure what the second band would be, but I am only the messenger. Regardless, this router is apparently capable of performance up to 1.9 Gigabits per second.

And then we cannot have all of these HTPC devices without an input method, can we? Enter the ASUS VivoMouse. This device allows you to more comfortably control your PC from your couch, as far as I can tell.

Last, but with a bang, ASUS announced the Transformer Book Trio. As you can guess, the Trio name comes from its three form factors being wrapped up into a single product: it's a notebook, a tablet, and a desktop PC. Do not worry, I will not make an iPhone announcement keynote joke; that one has already been well overplayed.

The trick is that the Trio is actually two fully functional computers with one running Android and the other Window 8. Both devices are powered by an x86 Intel-based processor, however: the main PC runs a Core i7-4500U processor and the tablet runs an Atom Z2580.

A main selling feature is that, when base is separated from screen, both devices are simultaneously useable. If you attach the base to an external monitor it will function like a desktop PC.

Raw specifications:

Intel Core i7-4500U (base), Intel Atom Z2580 (tablet)

Full HD multitouch IPS display

Windows 8 (base), Android Jelly Bean (screen)

1TB HDD (base), 64GB flash (screen)

Fully compatible with Google Play and Windows Stores

Well, that's it. We will probably have a bit more analysis coming up soon. But, for now, I need to get off of Taipei time.

ASUS will be kicking off Computex 2013 with a livestream where the company will likely announce new products. The theme for the event is "We transform". The press conference will be held at 38 Songren Road Xinyi District, Taipei, 101 Taiwan, but for those not in attendance the livestream is in approximately 3 hours and allow enthusaists and press to cover the event from afar.

If you are a 'night owl,' insomniac, or just plain excited about new ASUS gear feel free to tune into the livestream at this link (or via the embedded stream below the break) and discuss any announcements in the comments below!

The livestream and press conference starts at 3:00am ET (3:00pm local Computex time).

I am expecting to see some new motherboards, graphics cards, and PCs from ASUS to complement the launch of Intel and NVIDIA's new CPU and GPU components. Perhaps we will finally see the launch of the rumored RAIDR PCI-E SSDs. It should make for a good show, so tune in if you can!

ASUS recently launched three new PCs that are powered by Intel's new “Haswell” fourth generation Core processors. Specifically, ASUS will be launching a new desktop called the M51 as well as two all-in-one PCs: the ET2702 and ET2301.

Details on the new computers are still unknown, but ASUS has provided some basic specifications that users will able to build off off with a bit of customization during ordering. All three PCs will use Intel's latest Haswell processors and can be outfitted with discrete graphics cards from AMD or NVIDIA. ASUS is also including its SonicMaster audio technology in each computer.

The M51 desktop is fitted into a tower-style chassis. In addition to the Haswell CPU and AMD/NV add-in cards, the desktop PC features a removable UPS, an externally-accessible SATA hot swap drive bay, wireless charging for Qi devices, USB ports with Ai Charger II technology (for charging tablets faster than the standard USB power output), and automatic fan speed control.

The ET2301 is an all-in-one PC with a 23” display. The display allows up to 5-point multi-touch as is a 23” IPS 1080p display with 178-degree viewing angles. The PC also comes with three free years of 32GB Asus cloud storage and an optional subwoofer.

Alternatively, the ET2702 is a larger 27” all-in-one PC. It features a 27” IPS display with 10-point multi-touch and a resolution of 2560 x 1440. This AIO can be configured with Thunderbolt ports and a subwoofter (optional).

Beyond that details on the pricing and configuration options is still unknown. Stay tuned to PC Perspective for more Haswell PC news.

Introduction and Technical Specifications

Thanks for stopping by our coverage of the Intel Haswell, 4th Generation Core processor and Z87 chipset release! We have a lot of different stories for you to check out and I wanted to be sure you knew about them all.

As the flagship member of the ROG (Republic of Gamers) motherboard line, the ASUS Maximus VI Extreme has everything you've come to expect from an ROG Extreme line board - killer styling, insane performance potential, and more than enough features and accessories for any enthusiast. ASUS decided to up the ante for the Intel Z87-based Maximus VI Extreme, including the OC Panel . The OC Panel is a standalone device with integrated LCD display used for board monitoring and overclocking. To gage the board's performance, we put the ASUS Maximus VI Extreme through our rigorous suite of tests. At a retail price of $399.00, this board would make a good crown jewel for anyone's high-end system.

Courtesy of ASUS

In designing the ASUS Maximus VI Extreme board, ASUS designed in a total of 8 digital power phases for the CPU's power delivery system with an additional 2 digital power phases reserved for use by the onboard memory. ASUS integrated the following features into the Maximum VI Extreme: 10 SATA 3 ports; an M.2 (NGFF) SSD slot integrated into the ASUS mPCIe Combo II card; an Intel I217-V GigE NIC; an Intel 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth controller integrated into the ASUS mPCIe Combo II card; five PCI-Express x16 slots for up to quad-card support; 2-digit diagnostic LED display; onboard power, reset, CMOS clear, MemOK!, BIOS Flashback, ROG Connect, DirectKey, and BIOS switch buttons; Probelt voltage measurement points; OC Panel support; and USB 2.0 and 3.0 port support.

Introduction and Technical Specifications

Thanks for stopping by our coverage of the Intel Haswell, 4th Generation Core processor and Z87 chipset release! We have a lot of different stories for you to check out and I wanted to be sure you knew about them all.

The Gryphon Z87 is a new form factor being introduced into the TUF (The Ultimate Force) board line with its micro-ATX stature. It does not lack for features in what it lacks for physical size though. ASUS packed this board full of features with the same stability and performance that you have all come to expect from a TUF series motherboard. By default, the Gryphon Z87 does not come with the Thermal Armor overlay, but the armor kit will be offered as an upgrade for a minimal additional outlay. We but the ASUS Gryphon Z87 board through its paces to get a fuller performance picture. At a retail price of $169.00, this board would make a nice addition to any small form factor or normal sized system.

Courtesy of ASUS

The Gryphon Z87 is designed with an 8 phase digital power delivery system for the CPU to ensure the best performance and stability possible under any conditions. The following features are integrated into the board's design: six SATA 6Gb/s ports; an Intel I217-V GigE NIC; three PCI-Express x16 slots for dual-card support; one PCI-Express x1 slot; onboard power, reset, CMOS MemOK!, BIOS Flashback, and DirectKey buttons; and USB 2.0 and 3.0 port support.

Previews of the upcoming Z87 boards from all the major manufacturers are appearing everywhere as the release date draws nigh, to the joy of tech enthusiasts everywhere. ASUS was kind enough to give The Tech Report a breakdown of their upcoming boards, both full sized and mATX. One of the more intriguing is the TUF Gryphon which has the same heatshield as the previous TUF series but is in an mATX form for those who want a powerful SFF system. Pictured below is the new Deluxe model, The Tech Report finds the colour scheme reminiscent of a "1978 Firebird Trans Am"; perhaps you can mod a blower into your case if this is the board you chose?

"A few weeks ago, we got an early preview of Asus' upcoming Haswell motherboards. We can now tell you what's in store for the next generation."

Computex, the second largest expo for computer hardware, is less than a week away but its influence tends to bleed over a little bit. And, since we know our readers love 4K displays, we thought we might pass along a leak we found for a new ASUS monitor.

The Asus PQ321 is both a relatively easy-to-remember model number and a 31.5" computer monitor with 4K2K resolution. Connect it to your computer with DisplayPort or, for at least some US models, dual HDMI to have the same resolution as IMAX Digital as well as have a legitimate reason to pick up multiple GeForce Titan graphics cards.

Looking at these specifications, it certainly feels like an IPS-equivalent technology with some very telltale characteristics: the relatively slow response time for seemingly no reason, the 1.07 billion colors, the very wide viewing angle, and the relatively high pixel density per inch. This prompted me to look over at the ASUS website for some tea leaf reading. It looks as though all P- or M-series monitors utilize some form of IPS technology, the M-series referring to thin-bezel options and the P-series to relatively image quality-focused products.

So as best as I can tell, the PQ321 is a 31.5" 4K IPS monitor.

ASUS is expected to display this at Computex 2013 in Taipei along with a 39" 4K monitor. No word on pricing or availability, at least not yet.